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How to prep your taxes for submittal to your CPA
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items As a tax preparer, here's how I like to see documents organized so that the input is easy. This allows for accuracy, saves time, and reduces your tax prep bill
Sections
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How CPAs like information organized
Timesavers that save you money
CPA Recommendations
How CPAs like information organized
I've been an accountant for over 20 years but my niche was healthcare accounting. Recently, having switched careers in order to have more flexibility and balance as a single mother, I started preparing taxes for a local office seasonally. This list i...
Make sure you have your ID handy. If you want, you can make a copy and put your ID away. This saves a step at the tax office.
Make sure you have a copy of your license or state id or passport
Start with a prior year return. You'll use that return to gather information for the current year in the order of the prior year return.
Use your prior year return as a guide. Prepare consistently year over year.
Here is a generic copy but if you already go to a CPA, they will supply a tax organizer to help you prepare your taxes. This is important to fill out in order to accurately file your taxes. If you don't have a CPA, this tax organizer will help you ta...
Your CPA will supply a tax organizer to help you prepare for the current year.
Once the tax organizer has been filled out to the best of your knowledge, then you want to organize your documentation according to your 1040 and/or 1041
Use your Prior Year Return to gather information to support each line input
If you have a spouse or dependents that you claim, you want all W-2 information together. If your dependents are filing a separate return (their W-2 wages are more than the standard deduction), you would prepare their information separately with a se...
Batch all W-2 Information together
Alot of people are confused by HSAs but its simple. You either have a standalone HSA or one through your employer. Make sure you pick up both the contribution made to your account and any health expenses you paid with that account.
HSA contributions and distribution information can be added either behind your W-2 (box 14 or box 12 might have the contribution) or separately with the tax credit information
Sometimes the 1099-INT and 1099-DIV statements are in a consolidated statement from a brokerage house. If you have a checking account separate from the brokerage, put the individual 1099-INTs first, then 1099-DIVs then the consolidated statements
Add any 1099-INT's interest on checking/savings/US bonds/ Money market accounts, etc
1099-DIVs go behind 1099-INT and if its included in a consolidated statement, just put the loose 1099s before the statement.
Investment dividends 1099-DIVs should be filed behind 1099-INT interest expenses
1099B should be included with 1099 INT, 1099 DIV and consolidated statements.
Schedule D capital gains and losses Form 1099-B should be included with 1099 INT, 1099 DIV and consolidated statements
Add all 1099R information and form 5498 information behind any 1099 INT, 1099 DIV, and consolidated statements.
1099-R traditional IRAs, roth IRAs, Pensions, Annuities and 5498 - IRS related to those distributions should be filed behind 1099 INT/DIV and consolidated statements
If you're retired and/or disabled, your SSA-1099 would go behind the 1099Rs
Social Security SSA-1099s should be filed behind all 1099R and related 5498s
Medical and dental expenses, real estate and property taxes, mortgage interest (form 5498) and charitable contributions are examples of itemized deductions. If your expenses are less than the standard deduction, you don't have to submit this information.
Schedule A Itemized deductions Information should be supplied after all income related information.
If you qualify for any tax credits (listed on 1040), you would add that information behind your itemized expenses
Any tax credit information is included behind itemized deductions
In the prior year, some people have tax vouchers which can be sent in with their payments. Any payments made should be submitted in order to correctly calculate the return. Always make a copy of the check/bank statement to support the transaction.
All Estimated payments made in the current and prior year should be included, for federal and state taxes
If you are doing a schedule C for the first time, organize your income and receipts by line item.
Prepare your schedule C information in accordance with the form, gathering all income and expenses. It is helpful if you have the current year information compared with the prior year.
If you have multiple properties and your receipts are not separated by property, that's ok, just note how you want that expense allocated between the properties to the best of your ability.
Schedule E Rental property income and expenses (receipts) should be gathered together and organized by line item
Usually if you have a Schedule K-1, there's an extension filed just in case all information is not prepared in time. Its helpful if you have all the information prepared as early as possible. This can be hard to get that information if its coming fro...
K-1 Partnership and Trusts schedule information should be included together
Most information will flow from your IRS 1040 to your state filing but each state has its quirks. Take the prior year return and see if your state has information that needs to be prepared. For example, you may be applying for a homestead credit, tui...
Prepare all information for your state taxes separately
If you can submit a copy digitally, this saves prep time for the CPA
Once you have organized your information in the order listed, make a copy of everything or scan it to a flash drive.
Timesavers that save you money
If you have a pile of receipts and a hot mess, its going to cost you.
If you prepare the information digitally in one clear package according to the list above, it saves the CPA prep time, which is less invoice time charged to your bill.
Submit all information digitally prepared in the order listed above
If you know you're missing something, note it and see if you can retrieve it and/or the date you can retrieve it. By submitting all information at once, its ready to be prepared in one fell swoop. Any time a CPA has to stop, put down the information ...
Tax tip: Don't submit your information until you get all necessary documents but communicate what is still pending to your CPA
Any time you have receipts, list them out on a summary page and total them so that the CPA is not spending time organizing, determining where the receipts should go and on what schedule, and what you expected to file. By having a spreadsheet summariz...
Organize and summarize your receipts by the schedule category
Neat receipts, quick books, online mileage trackers all are great tools to manage your receipts digitally.
There are tons of apps to digitize and organize your receipts making it easy for prep tax time, saving you money
By having one list, you can just cross it off as your questions are answered, saving you time and keeping all questions in one spot
Make a running list of questions that you have as you prepare the information for submittal
Your engagement letter can summarize the information you supplied, any questions you have, your contact information, and submitted year over year can serve as a comparison to make sure nothing is missing in the current year preparation.
Your engagement letter for the CPA summarizes your return
CPA Recommendations
Both of these recommendations prepare national state returns, work with individuals, small and large businesses, and trusts/partnerships. I know them personally and highly recommend them for your tax return preparation, consulting, and wealth advisin...
VanderBloemen Group has a unique way of making clients feel like family. Whether you're a sole proprietor, LLC, partnership, or established business, they take the time to understand your goals and provide practical, solution-oriented guidance. They ...
The VanderBloemen Group
DJ has worked for a Big 4 accounting firm specializing in Fortune 500 company taxes; she has also worked with the IRS and congress regarding lawmaking. I highly recommend her, she is an amazing woman and you can find her on my YouTube podcast Dow of ...
DJ Horton & Associates